Water Distribution Systems in cold climates need to be designed to prevent freezing and this includes water transmission and distribution mains and service connections.
Water mains and service connections are designed as uninsulated deep bury, below the freezing level, or insulated deep burry, or insulated and heat traced shallower installations. Any of the above three solutions is expensive and often difficult to implement in terrains with high bedrock elevations or high ground water table.
Similar, but even more difficult conditions, are created by permafrost in which case water mains can be installed below or above the permafrost level or above ground. In each case, water mains need to be insulated and heat traced. The above-ground installations often require additional protection against mechanical injuries. Insulated “box like”, “utilidoors”, are often used for aboveground installations.
Another solution to prevent freezing of water mains and service connections is bleeding of service lines at buildings through taps. This may be required even in cases where water mains and service connections insulation and heat tracing is not adequate or damaged.
The service lines bleeding results in a waste of domestic water and in increase of sewage flows, and in decrease of sewage biological loading which have negative impacts on the sewage treatment systems.
Any of the above cases lead to an expensive installation and operation, low reliability of the operation and extensive maintenance of the water distribution systems.
The invention eliminates the problems associated with the conventional designs outlined above and it is less expensive to install and operate, and it provides a high reliability and less maintenance of the water distribution systems in cold climates.
The invention does not require water mains and service connections to be heat traced or be installed very deep.
The water mains and service connections can be shallow burry insulated or uninsulated depending on specific climatic, terrain and development conditions including temperature, soil type, groundwater level, snow cover, type of development (single family, multi family, industrial, recreational, institutional buildings), density of development and water use.
The invention leads to a lower power consumption than the conventional insulated and heat traced systems or service lines bleeding to prevent freezing and it does not result in negative impacts on the sewage flows and biological composition.
The invention is applicable to small and large water distribution systems consisting of single or multiple distribution mains and looped or independent, parallel not looped water mains.